The Lord's Prayer

The Lord's Prayer, also known as The Our Father, is one of the best known prayers and liturgical components in regular corporate worship. I remember learning The Lord's Prayer as part of my Confirmation Class when I was Ethan's age. I recall it being a part of weekly worship, but I needed to read it out of the bulletin until I had to recite it from memory for Confirmation. Today, The Lord's Prayer is an important part of my worship life, both public and private. 

The Lord's Prayer is sourced in Scripture as taught by Jesus, which is the primary reason it is held so highly. It is recorded by the Gospel writers Matthew and Luke, and each version is slightly different from the other. Here is the version as found in Matthew 6.9-13: "Pray then in this way: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one." The context of The Lord's Prayer in Matthew's Gospel is actually part of the Sermon on the Mount. As Jesus teaches on prayer in His most famous sermon, His emphasis is on humility and authenticity in prayer, as opposed to those who want to turn prayer into a performance and show for others. 

The version that we have in the Gospel of Luke 11:2-4 is shorter than Matthew's, and comes with a slightly different context. Luke's version of the prayer is, "He said to them, 'When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial.'” The context of the The Lord's Prayer in Luke's Gospel comes as teaching advice from Jesus about prayer. The disciples saw the power of prayer exhibited in Jesus' life, and they wanted that power for themselves. 

You probably noticed that the version we use in worship, weddings, funerals, and in other forms of worship is different from what we read in both Matthew and Luke's Gospels. This is simply because of how different churches and traditions have utilized and incorporated The Lord's Prayer throughout history. The version most similar to the one we use today was adopted in the early 1600s. For quick reference and use, this is the version we use in worship: "Our father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen."

In both cases, The Lord's Prayer is intended to be more of a model for prayer given by Jesus as opposed to the model prayer that we might be inclined to consider it. Using a model for prayer — like The Lord's Prayer — can help organize and make the most of your quiet time. This is the simple model I shared in worship on Sunday:

- Acknowledge God, recognizing that acknowledging God means admitting you are NOT God;

- Confess your needs for God, for God's forgiveness, AND for help with your need to forgive others;

- Thank God for God's grace, presence, gifts, and God's daily provisions;

- Seek God's help for things big and small things alike.

We will explore some of the relational components of prayer and life with God using The Lord's Prayer this coming Sunday. I hope you will make plans to be with us this week, and each Sunday this month, as we take unique and exciting glimpses into our life with God through Jesus' gift to us in this holy and beautiful prayer.